Queensborough will give students ‘Edge for Success’

Deirdre Corrigan, a 20-year-old Queensborough Community College student pursuing her associate’s degree in nursing, thinks it’s great her school is raising money to help young students get an education.

“I’m very excited about this program,” she said. “I actually started Queensborough on a scholarship and it really helps so many students who need scholarships.”

Queensborough Community College announced that it is seeking donations for its “Edge for Success” campaign, whose goal is to raise $25 million by 2015.

The college is just about $4 million away, according to Vice President of Institutional Advancement Rosemary Sullivan Zins.

“Today we are here to launch our fundraising campaign to support what we do each and every day for our students and our community,” said Queensborough President Dr. Diane B. Call.

Sullivan Zins said scholarships given out from this fund will be based on merit, but not just academically. Instead, those eligible will have demonstrated a good work ethic in school, she said. Additional grants can be given to students for books and other needs so they can stay in school.

In order to raise funds, she said, the college has done a great deal of networking and researching. The foundation has also had meetings with team members to train them in asking for donations.

The campaign is chaired by alumnus Charlene Pounis, ‘76, who noted that funding will not only go to student scholarships, but for faculty research and expansion.

“The faculty is continuing to grow and develop and then provide even better services for the students,” she said.

The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives was also awarded a $500,000 Challenge Grant by The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The college’s goal, it was announced, was to raise $100,000 for the center. Mark Kupferberg, chair of the Queensborough Community College Foundation, announced that NEH has pledged to match the funds by 50 percent — $500,000 — every year for five years.

“This is just one illustration of how we are viewed as a national leader of what we do,” he said.

Kupferberg said the fundraising campaign, as a whole, would help Queensborough continue to grow.

“It ultimately becomes that little dab of grease that makes the wheels roll,” he said.